Pop. 8,969. In South Elmsley T., Leeds and Grenville Cs., and North Elmsley T., Lanark C., on the Rideau R. at the E end of Rideau L. and Hwy 15 and C. Rds. 4, 29, & 43, 83 km. SW of Ottawa.

Although the spelling has been changed, the community is named after Maj. Thomas Smythe, a United Empire Loyalist who received a Crown grant ofland in 1784 and built a sawmill on a series of falls in the Rideau R.

Smythe then mortgaged his holdings, failed to meet his financial obligations, and the land was bought in 1825 by Abel Ward.

Ward is considered to be the founder of the town, which for a time was called Wardsville The name was later changed to Smythe's Falls and then modified to Smith's Falls, the apostrophe courtesy of a clerk in Toronto.

Locals ignored the apostrophe and in 1968, by an act of the Ontario legislature, it was removed from the name. Smiths Falls was the first town in Ontario to have a government-approved plan for the development and expansion of its boundaries.

The town is divided into four district wards -- residential, commercial, light manufacturing, and heavy industry areas.